New grad RN and dialysis

Specialties Urology

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I graduated in May and passed the boards a few weeks ago. I have been applying to every hospital in my area (and beyond), as well as showing up at the recruiters office trying to land myself a position. I have an associates degree, but started in an RN to BSN program a week after graduating at a really good local state university. I'm really not interested in nursing homes as I want to deal with the higher acuity patient.

Would a dialysis center be a good fit and opportunity for me? I just put in a couple applications at DaVita, do they often hire new grads for this specialty? What exactly does a dialysis RN do throughout the day? Thanks for any insight.

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Thanks so much, that link was really helpful. Dialysis sounds really interesting to me, I think I'd be happy there if given the chance. Far from my specialty of choice (NICU), but who knows where the future will take me anyway. Hoping I receive an interview for sure now. Are DaVita or Fresenius decent companies to work for?

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I've heard that they are about the same.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

I started working for Fresenius this past May as an inpatient/acutes RN. I love my job so far. I know that they don't normally hire new grads to do acutes because of the acuity of the patients, but I have been an RN for several years and have a lot of hospital experience.

I asked our manager about hiring new grads for the chronic units because I have a family member who is also a new grad looking for a full-time job, and she said they do sometimes, but not always, it just depends on their need and how much experience the other RNs in the chronic unit have that they would be working with.

As far as what a dialysis nurse does all day, in the chronic unit they oversee the administration of dialysis treatments by dialysis techs as well as administer treatments themselves sometimes, they administer meds, and they call the nephrologists if they have a question or concern or need orders. In the acute setting, we go to one or more hospitals and administer dialysis treatments to inpatients with both acute and chronic kidney failure.

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When I passed my boards two years ago, I applied to every hospital in my area. Nobody was hiring, especially for new grads. I went to a Fresenius one day a month after I passed my boards and was interviewed and hired within a week. I have been working for Fresenius ever since and haven't looked back. I have even transferred to another facility out of state due to a move I had to make and still had no issues. There are definitely some challenges in dialysis and can sometimes be overwhelming. However, once you get the routine, you should have no issues with anything. Now I must admit, I sometimes do want to consider applying at a hospital to do floor nursing, but I always fall back on dialysis. I'm gaining a lot experience daily and most importantly I have a lot of fun learning and gaining the respect with my patients.

Good Luck. You'll make the right decision....

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I would hire a new grad, however....Dialysis is a highly specialized field & will require many weeks & months of learning; be careful if you are still going to school. This will limit your availability & a company's consideration investing in you.

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I am a new grad that has been working at Fresenius for three weeks. So it does happen. This is far from where I wanted to be in nursing, but I think it is perfect for me right now. I am learning so much. And I really feel I am working in an environment that is so supportive of learning. Just a piece of advice--don't underestimate how overwhelming dialysis is. It is a completely different field of nursing than nursing school teaches. But it has already taught me so much! Good luck.

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Thanks everyone for the advice. I haven't heard back from any of the dialysis positions I've applied to, but I'm definitely still interested in the field. Although I am attending a BSN program, it is all pretty much online through my local state university so my availability is not limited in anyway. It's nice to hear about other new grads that are working in a specialty, makes me feel like I'll have a chance too. I'm going to stop by the facilities this week and see if I can speak to someone about a position. Thanks!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.

Hello! My answer is yes! This is a good field for a new grad. Many will disagree and say that you need med surg before, but I started as a new grad in outpatient dialysis and did great. You can't be a supervisor or charge nurse until you've had one years experience as a nurse, so they will always have another more experienced nurse there with you to answer questions and hopefully teach. I too did not think this was a good starting point for a new grad, but after applying to 96 jobs and hearing nothing, I took this offer! I did outpatient for several years. About 6 months after I started outpatient, I got lucky and took a PRN inpatient dialysis job at a hospital. I did both jobs for 3 years. I got exposure to what it is really like to be a floor nurse or ICU nurse and let me tell you, no thanks! I will gladly stay in this specialty. I got ACLS certified and learned telemetry skills, I got to see all kinds of patients in ICU and slowly observed many things that gave me a more general understanding of nursing instead of just renal disease.

I have made the most of that opportunity and I have now been a traveling acute care dialysis RN for 9 months. I just started in my 4th city. I am eligible to sit for the CCRN certification, which would likely make me a possible candidate for an ICU job if I ever want to switch. My goals are now to learn apheresis or plasmapheresis. You can make the most of anything. Whatever you end up deciding to do, do your best, be enthusiastic, and put your all into it. I was offered a management position at age 26! My best advice is to take what you can get and then expand and grow, work hard, and strive for new experiences. Maybe even get a side gig to widen your experiences! I love my job, good luck !!

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